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Call for steps to bring fallow land under cultivation

KOTTAYAM: Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran has stressed the need to return to agriculture. Laying the foundation stone for the corporate office building of Oil Palm India Ltd. (OPIL) here on Monday, Mr. Ratnakaran said safeguarding the interests of the farming community should not be viewed as a responsibility of the government alone. The entire society owes to the farming community and as such it should be a joint effort by the government and the society as a whole to protect the interests of the farmers.

The Minister called upon the local bodies to take up the challenge of bringing the fallow land in the district under cultivation. “At least 10 grama panchayats should be able to declare themselves fallow land free,” he said.

Lauding OPIL for its commendable functioning, Mr. Ratnakaran pointed out that the crucial element, which ensured the smooth and successful functioning of an organisation, was the workers.

Opposition Leader Oommen Chandy, who inaugurated the public meeting, said OPIL would be able to move ahead further, if they continued to exploit the new developmental opportunities and the state-of-the-art technologies.